I really done some looking into this awhile back and this is what I found. 1st: Putnam LE has went to a P25 digital encyripted system that is not on the WVIRP. At first they cut off all communications with everybody except their own 911 center, but now they are able to communicate to some agencies through the 911 center. This system can't be monitored with any regular radio. You must have a special digital radio with a encyription board / descrambler.

The PSR-800 with the latest firmware is supposed to be capable of decoding P-25 Phase II digital transmissions. Phase II is a newer type of digital format which provides more capacity than Phase I using the same set of frequencies. There's nothing wrong with scanner manufacturers building equipment to monitor Phase II; it's just a matter of adapting to the technology.

Encryption is different. Encryption is the deliberate scrambling of a signal to prevent unauthorized users from listening. It's illegal to build or use equipment that decodes an encrypted transmission unless the person using the equipment is an authorized user on the system.

They do still occasionally use they old frequency when their system goes down. Occasionally you will hear traffic from one of the municipal PDs on the old frequency as well but for the most part everyone operates on the new system.